VOIRDIRE
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I am Judge Williams. We are going to
select ajury in a civil case called .
I am going to ask you a series of questions to help the Court and the
attorneys in the jury selection process. Before I ask any questions, I am going to
ask the Deputy Clerk to swear the jury panel to answer any questions truthfully.
(To Deputy,Please swear the panel).
;
If any of you answer "yes" to any ofthe questions that I ask, please raise
your hand, and, when recognized by me,please stand, state your name and your
jury number. At the end ofthe questions, the Deputy Clerk will ask some of you to
take seats in the jury box, and, after that, the lawyers and I may ask those of you
who answered "yes" to one or more questions to come up to the bench to discuss
your answers with the lawyers and me.
The presentation of evidence in this case is expected to take days, but
jury deliberations could extend your service beyond that. The schedule that I
expect to keep over the days of evidence presentation will iuclude a morning break
of fifteen mmutes, a lunch break of an hour, and an afternoon break offifteen
minutes. We will start at 9:30 a.m. and finish no later than 5:30 p.m. each day.
1. Does the schedule that I have just mentioned present a special problem to
any of you?
2.(Description ofthe case). This is a patent lawsuit involvmg washing
machines. The Plaintiff is LG Electronics. LG owns patents relating to washing
machines. It has sued the defendants, who are ASKO Appliances, Daewoo
Electronics, and Digital Symphony Corporation. The Defendants manufacture or
sell washing machines. LG,the Plaiutiff, says some ofthose washing machines
infiinge its patents. The Defendants deny infringement and also say that the
patents are invalid. The jury in this case will be asked to decide whether the
washing machines infringe the patents, and whether the patents are valid. For
those of you who end up being on the jury,I will give more detailed instructions on
the law later in the case.
Have any of you heard or read anything about this case?
3. The lawyers and law firms involved in this case are:(typed list to be
supplied by the parties). Do any of you or your immediate families, such as
spouse, child, parent, or sibling, know any ofthe attorneys or law firms I have just
named?
4. Have any of you or your immediate families had any business dealings
with, or been employed by, any ofthese attorneys or law firms?
5. Have any of you or your immediate families ever been employed by (e.g.
LG Electronics, ASKO Appliances, Daewoo Electronics, or Digital Symphony
Corp.)?
6. Have any of you or your immediate families ever owned stock in any of
these companies?
7. Have any of you or your immediate families ever had a business
relationship with any ofthese companies?
8. Have any of you or your immediate families ever had any experience,
good or bad, with any ofthese companies,that might keep you from being a fair
and impartial juror in this case?
9. Do you possess any opinions about any ofthese companies that might
keep you from being a fair and impartialjuror in this case?
10. The potential witnesses in this case are:(typed list to be supplied by the
parties). Are you familiar with any ofthese potential witnesses?
11. Have you or any member of your immediate family ever been employed
by the United States Patent and Trademark Office?
12. Have you or any member of your immediate family ever applied for, or
obtained, a United States or foreign patent?
13. Have you or any member of your immediate family ever been involved
in a dispute about patent rights?
14. Do you have any opinions about patents, patent rights, or the United
States Patent and Trademark Office that might make it difficult for you to be a fair
and impartial juror in this case?
14A. Have you served on a jury in a civil case within the last fifteen years?
15. If you are selected to sit as a juror in this case, are you aware of any
reason why you would be unable to render a verdict based solely on the evidence
presented at trial?
16. If you are selected to sit as a juror in this case, are you aware of any
reason why you would not be able to follow the law as I give it to you?
17. Is there anything, such as poor vision, difficulty hearing, difficulty
understanding spoken or written English,that would make it difficult for you to
serve on this jury?
18. Do you have any experience with the design or manufacture of(e.g.
washing machines)?
19. Have you ever been employed to repair (e.g. washing machines)?
20. This is the last question. Is there anything else, including something you
have remembered in connection with one ofthe earlier questions, that you think
you would like to tell me in connection with your service as a juror in this case?
